Official Strongman European Championships – 11 Champions, 162 Winners!

The biggest ever Official Strongman European Championships saw 162 competitors from across the continent battling it out at the Yorkshire Events Centre in HarrogateHarrogatejhbgghggvgvgvgv. Eleven European titles were awarded after a thrilling weekend of Strongman! With the standards of the competitors getting ever higher, several of the classes’ overall victors were determined on the very final event of the weekend! None were more dramatic that the last event of the whole weekend, when the largest man of the entire competition, Sweden’s Fredrik Johansson, came from behind to secure victory and an invite to not just the OSG later this year, but to a Giants Live show next season.

The Women’s Open was won, for the first time, by Welsh athlete Claire Myler, who has already claimed the World Master’s title. The Welsh athlete opts to contest the Open division and was rewarded with an overall victory that she can add to her long list of achievements.

The contest got underway at 9.30am on Saturday morning and was livestreamed via Official Strongman. On Day 1, three events were contested: Deadlift Ladder, after which the competitors moved to the Dumbbell Medley and finished with an explosive Sandbag Toss. Day 2 began with a gruelling Shield Walk that saw many of the competitors push themselves to the full extent of their capabilities. The weekend’s action concluded with the Power Stairs, before the podium ceremonies.

As well as the OSG European Title, the athletes were fighting for the five automatic invites to OSG Worlds later this year, and for the open competitors, a likely invite to a Giants Live show!

U64kg Women

England’s Kate Connolly took her third European title with a trademark display of consistency in the first of the women’s divisions. Taking an event win in the Sandbag Toss, she was never out of the top three in any of the five events. Emily Norley, who placed third last year, pushed her hard, especially after taking victory in the penultimate event, Shield Carry, and eventually finished in the runner-up spot. France’s Céline Mathieu took third overall, equal on points with Scotland’s Diane Gaughan who took a superb event win in the Dumbbell Press.

Women’s Masters 40+

The women’s over 40’s title was taken by England’s Naomi Hadley for the fourth year in succession. The 2024 Master’s World Champion won the opening event Deadlift Ladder and took a second victory in the Shield Carry after third place finishes in both the Dumbbell Ladder and Sandbag Toss,. Second in the Power Stairs was enough to seal a 4-point win over Scotland’s Izzy Tait who won the Sandbag Toss and improved her overall result from 5^th last season. A single point behind her was Andrea Seed who secured superb event wins in the Dumbbell Ladder and Power Stairs.

U73kg Women

England’s Cathy Watson finished down in 9^th last year but pulled off an amazing win to take her first European title and hold off the challenges from Scotland’s Heather Holden and Slovakia’s Karin Krchliková. Watson won the opening event, locking out all four deadlifts in just under 21 seconds. The Slovakian took victory in the Dumbbell Ladder, whilst Watson’s two reps were only good enough for 8^th. A 4^th place in the Sandbag Toss and consecutive runner-up finishes in the Shield Carry and Power Stairs was enough to see her close out a 2-point win over Holden. Krchliková added another event win in the final discipline but was ultimately undone by her 10^th place finish in the Deadlift ladder.

U82kg Women

It was back-to-back European titles for France’s Angéline Berva after she defeated three-times World’s Strongest Woman Donna Moore to take victory in the U82’s. Moore took an early lead with consecutive wins and a second on Day 1, to drop just a single point. Winning the Deadlift and Dumbbell ladder, Don Don looked to be in imperious form, but with Berva taking two runner-up finishes and a win in the Sandbag Toss, she trailed the English athlete by just a single point. On Day two, the Frenchwoman levelled the scoring by beating Moore in the Shield Walk – Scotland’s Hannah Ross was the winner of that event – meaning overall victory would come down to a head-to-head in the Power Stairs. Whilst Ross took the event win, Berva got the better of Moore, who seemed to be running low on energy, to claim the overall victory. England’s Becca Worgan Potter rounded off the podium in 3^rd, 5-points ahead of Ross.

Open Women

What an achievement for Wales’s Claire Myler, who is the reigning Master’s World’s Strongest Woman to take the Open European title. With a winning margin of 5-points, the 300kg deadlifter’s victory in the opening event was no great surprise and she smoked all four barbells in just 16 seconds, half the time taken by the Netherland’s Patricia Smit who would eventually finish second overall. Myler was on top once again in the Dumbbell Ladder, but it was Smit who was to close Day 1 with an event win of her own in the Sandbag Toss. Taking just 5^th in the Sandbag, the overall points were close, and Smit had every chance of taking the win on Day 2. A runner-up finish in the Shield Walk, followed by a third event win in the Power Stairs confirmed Myler in 1^st place. England’s Jade Skill rounded off the podium places with a superb performance that saw who on equal points with Sweden’s Cassandra Annergren.

U80kg Men

This was the biggest men’s group of the whole weekend and as hotly contested as ever. Scotland’s Chris Harper reclaimed the title he won in 2024 with a resounding win over the Netherland’s Dorian Diepeveen who was also second last year. Connor Cowans placed 3^rd having just missed out on a podium place in 2025. Harper showed incredible consistency to never place out of the top three in any event, despite a field of 23 athletes. Event wins in the Dumbbell Ladder and Sandbag Toss were the perfect way to end Day 1 and if his competitors were waiting for a chink in his armour, they were left sorely disappointed. Diepeveen started Day 2 well with a win in the gruelling Shield Carry. The remaining Event wins came courtesy of Perry White in the Deadlift Ladder and Switzerland’s Jonas Bertschinger in the Power Stairs.

Men’s Masters 50+

The Miracle Man won his third European Masters victory, claiming back the title he so narrowly lost to Richard Birchmore last year. Despite contesting the 50+ division, Felix has now turned 60 and continues to defy the laws of nature with his incredible longevity. The oldest man to ever compete at World’s Strongest Man took the opening Deadlift Ladder event and rounded off Day 1 with back-to-back 2^nd places in the Dumbbell Ladder and Sandbag Toss. Arch-rival Birchmore was hot on his heels however and it looked like it might be a repeat of the points tie they had last year. With Sweden’s Stefan Bergquist competing superbly and winning the Sandbag Toss, the podium looked sewn up, but the question was, who would stand atop it? Felix left nothing to doubt as he smoked both events on Day 2, wining the Shield Carry and Power Stairs to claim the win by an impressive 9-points.

U90kg Men

Filip Zajiček added his name to a growing list of Czech stars of Strongman, with a superb win in the U90’s to take his first European title. The 2024 U90 World’s Strongest Man was second last year but managed to turn the tables on England’s Harry Rogers with a highly impressive display of strength and technical skill. Dan Benson, who claimed this title back in 2023, won the Deadlift Ladder and with some strong results in the Sandbag Toss and Power Stairs, managed to squeeze between the Czech and Rogers, whose 16^th place in the final event proved very costly. Zajiček won three of the five events, topping the scorer’s tables in the Dumbbell Ladder, Shield Carry and Power Stairs to underline a 6-point winning margin and leave himself full of confidence going into the official Strongman Games.

U105kg Men

After placing 3^rd in 2024 and 2^nd in 2025, England’s Thomas Owens finally claimed the last remaining space in the podium and the European title. He completed a 7-point victory over England’s Alfie Sharplin who was making his debut at the OS Euros. Bookending the two days of competition with wins in the Deadlift Ladder and Power Stairs, Sharplin finished 6-points clear Scotland’s Gavin Bruce who has made huge forward strides after his 9^th place finish last season. Owens finished the second day with a stunning performance in the Sandbag Toss to add an event win to the pair of runner-up finishes he’d taken in the Deadlift and Dumbbell Ladders. The title was all but his as he started Day 2 with a second event victory in the Shield Carry and with a solid 5^th place in the Power Stairs his victory was confiurmed. Sweden’s Victor Lingman, who has moved up from the U90’s where he was 3^rd last year, claimed the remaining event win with 1^st place in the Dumbbell Ladder.

Men’s Masters 40+

Poland’s Mariusz Arendacz won the European Master’s title on his debut performance at the Official Strongman Championships, having placed 4^th at World’s last year, just half a point off the podium. He began proceedings in ideal fashion, claiming victory in the opening Deadlift Ladder event. It was to be his only event victory in a highly consistent performance that included runner-up finishes in the Sandbag Toss and Power Stairs, as well as 3^rd in the Shield Carry. It was enough to secure him a 4-point win over England’s Andrew Lumley who was also runner up last year to Dainius Repšys. Jersey were represented on the podium by James Stuart who has now finished in the bronze medal position on three occasions.

Open Men

There was a dramatic conclusion to the Men’s Open and the whole weekend’s action, as the final event caused a major upheaval in the overall standings. England’s William Relf had looked in control throughout the two days, having claimed event wins in the Dumbbell Ladder and Shield Carry. He has made great improvements since his 9^th place finish last year, and it looked as though a complete run in the Power Stairs would be good enough to close out an overall victory over Poland’s Oskar Ziółkowski, who had won the Sandbag Toss to end Day 1. In the preceding heat, Fredrik Johansson, whose fall in the Sandbag had cost him dearly in points, put in a barn-storming display to post a time of 27.77 second for all four implements. The giant Swede had won the opening Deadlift Ladder but had looked out of the running for all but a podium finish. As Relf completed his Power Stairs run in a conservative 39.66 seconds, it looked apparent that his event position of 6^th would see him lose his lead to both the Pole and Johansson, who would finish on equal points, but with the Swede winning the deciding event, he would claim the European title for a famous comeback!